Railgun research and development
Abstract
R&D work on a railgun for equation of state (EOS) research at ultrahigh pressures is reviewed. Emphasis is given to the achievements of the present phase of research at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory which has, as a goal, the development of inexpensive system for launching intact, flat, cool, projectiles at more than 12 km/s in a hard vacuum environment. Among the achievements discussed are: fabrication of a round-bore railgun and high-pressure helium gas injector with an inner diameter constant to 25 microns over a length of 6 meters; reliable railgun operation in a hard vacuum; control of the current pulse shape; and launch and straight flight of intact projectiles at velocities up to 6.6 km/s for 1-g projectiles and 3 km/s for 4-g projectiles. A dual exposure flash-X-ray shadowgraph of the projectile in flight is provided.
- Publication:
-
Energy Technology Review
- Pub Date:
- September 1985
- Bibcode:
- 1985EnTR........17.
- Keywords:
-
- High Pressure;
- Hypervelocity Projectiles;
- Railgun Accelerators;
- Research And Development;
- Equations Of State;
- Reuse;
- Shock Wave Propagation;
- Vacuum Apparatus;
- Electronics and Electrical Engineering